Create Text Out of Any Image

Hello .... we meet again in a different tutorial. Are you including the person who likes to be creative with the pictures? With certain techniques, we can make the writing as emerging from our picture. In this tutorial, I’ll show how you can create text out of any image you have. I’m going to use a chocolate picture to create my text which will look like this:

You can use the same technique shown here to create other styles. Let’s get started and hope you’ll enjoy it.
Step 1

Let’s create a new document 1024x768. This is a perfect size in case you want to use it as a background on your computer. But feel free to choose any size you want.

After you opened a new document, choose the Gradient Tool (G) to create a nice gradient background for our image. Below are the colors I used:

Next, make sure the opacity is 100% and choose Radial Gradient.

Then drag from the top right corner to the bottom left corner to create a similar effect like shown below.

Step 2

Now, we need to find a nice chocolate image so we can start the real work. I got this one from BigStockPhoto. Bring it to your composition here and duplicate it. Make sure the image you’re using is yours. I’m using this image, just for the sake of the tutorial.

Reduce the Opacity of the lower layer of the chocolate to about 7% enough to see the image through and not too much so it wouldn’t be ugly.

Step 3

Now with the upper layer selected and visible, click and hold the Text tool and choose Horizontal Type Mask Tool. Type any word you want, and it will show in Red. Don’t worry about that. It will turn into a selection when we finish. Choose the font type, color and everything before you confirm. Once it’s turned into a selection you won’t be able to edit.

Step 4

Now that our text turned into a selection, press Q to go to the Text toolQuick Mask Tool and choose a soft black brush.

If we leave the text selection as it is, it’s going to be very sharp and wouldn’t look realistic. We’ll add some molten chocolate drops to the text so it would look better. With the brush selected, start drawing drops coming out from the text as shown below. And soften the edges as well so it would look like the whole text is melting.

Step 5

Exit Quick Mask Mode by pressing Q again and now we have our selection.

Now press Ctrl+J to create a new layer with the text created from the chocolate image. You can delete that chocolate layer now if you want.

Step 6

So let’s add some adjustments to the image and we’re done.

Duplicate the chocolate Text layer 3 times and place them under the original chocolate text layer as shown below.

On the original chocolate text layer, we’ll apply Bevel and Emboss effect. I used the values below.

Step 7

We’ll make the layer below previous (2nd copy) a blurred shadow. Apply an Overlay Color effect to make it black. And then apply Motion Blur with the values shown below.

Step 8

The 3rd copy of the text will be an extra shadow to add more depth. Apply Color Overlay like the picture above and reduce the opacity to about 40%-50%, but this time, with the Move Tool selected, nudge it down and right with your keyboard arrow keys until you see it’s looking good. This is what I’ve got so far.

The last layer should be left as it since it adds some depth below to the shadow effects that we created to make it more realistic and add a little bit more detail to the picture. It’s your personal choice if you decide to keep it.

Step 9

Now, I’ll add a lens flare for more detail and realism in the picture. Add a new layer, and fill it with black. Go to Filters > Render > Lens Flare.

Now, set the layer mode to Screen to remove the black background and show the lens flare against our image. Place it behind the first letter or above it near the lighter color of the background.

Step 10

Add a new layer, and with a soft black brush, paint around the edges of the picture. If you find it to be too dark, add some Gaussian blur to it and reduce the opacity of the layer like I’ve done below.

Result

Now, the rest is all up to you. You can add more text, more elements, more effects, and so on. It all depends on your creativity. Here’s my final image:

The molten effect can come out a lot better if you have a tablet to draw them accurately. Doesn’t seem so professional with the mouse, but I used just for the sake of the tutorial and most importantly, show the techniques and what you can do. Hope you enjoyed!